ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – Nobody likes being left in the dark, but what one man is accused of doing when a PNM employee turned off his electricity landed him in jail.

What started as a typical day at work for one PNM employee took a scary turn after a visit to a South Valley home Tuesday.

According to a criminal complaint the worker arrived at the home of Adrian Chacon, 24, to turn off his electricity. After she shut off the power she said Chacon sicced his pit-bull on her.

The complaint said after the worker picked up a rock to defend herself Chacon then threatened her again, saying, “if you throw a rock at my dog I will shoot you.”

The worker claims she had to throw the rock because the dog became aggressive and that is when she said Chacon went back into the home grabbed a rifle and pointed it at her.

One neighbor couldn’t not believe it went that far.

“That he got a rifle, that’s even worse,” a neighbor said. “I think that’s bad because if you owe your bill why not pay it. Well its not their fault. Their doing their work.”

PNM would not say how often workers, tasked with turning off people’s power, are threatened but said this case is the extreme. While, no one wants to be left in the dark the neighbor, who didn’t want to give his name, said the worker pulling the plug is not to blame.

“My bills come I pay them you know. If somebody is going to come and shut it off its my fault for not paying the bill,” the neighbor said.

A relative that lives in the home said there is a beware of dog sign and that Chacon did not sic the dog on the worker. She claimed the dog had run up on the worker on its own.

Deputies said Chacon told them there is a rifle inside his home but denied pointing it at the PNM worker.

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